1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suspension of a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly to a double wishbone type suspension.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a type of suspension of a vehicle such as an automobile, there has been conventionally known a suspension comprising a carrier for rotatably supporting a vehicle wheel, and a so-called H-type arm having two inboard ends spaced from one another in a substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle and pivotably connected with the body of the vehicle via elastic bushings and two outboard ends spaced from one another in a substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle and pivotably connected with the carrier, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication 2-136311.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the above-mentioned type suspension in skeleton, wherein the suspension is constructed as a double wishbone type rear suspension for a vehicle wheel. In FIG. 5, a shock absorber and a suspension spring are omitted for the clarity of the illustration. In this FIG. 10 is a carrier for supporting a vehicle wheel 12 to be rotatable about an axis of rotation 12A. 14 and 16 are upper and lower arms, respectively. In the shown embodiment, the lower arm 16 is an H-type arm, while the upper arm 14 is an I-type arm.
The upper arm 14 extends substantially in a lateral direction of the vehicle, with its inboard end being pivotably connected with a vehicle body 20 via a joint 18 including a rubber bushing, while its outboard end is pivotably connected with the carrier 10 via a ball joint 22. The lower arm 16 has two inboard ends spaced from one another in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the two inboard ends being connected with the vehicle body 20 via a pair of joints 24 and 26 each including a rubber bushing to be pivotable about a common axis 28, and two outboard ends spaced from one another in a substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the two outboard ends being pivotably connected with the carrier 10 via a pair of ball joints 30 and 32 to be pivotable about a common axis 34.
In such a suspension, the carrier 10 is supported more stably by the lower arm 16 pivotably connected therewith on the outboard side thereof at two positions spaced from one another in a substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the lower arm being pivotably connected with the vehicle body 20 on its inboard sides at two positions spaced from one another in a substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle, than in a double wishbone type suspension composed of a plurality of I-type arms.
However, in the above-mentioned type suspension employing an H-type arm having two outboard ends pivotably connected with the carrier, the carrier can be turned neither forward nor rearward relative to the suspension arm, and therefore this type of suspension is not employable for a rear suspension of a vehicle in which four vehicle wheels are steered.